By LYNDON ZAITZ of the Keizertimes
Sam Goesch remembers how his father, George, replied when he asked him for advice about opening his own insurance agency.
“Figure it out,” said his father himself a State Farm Insurance agent in Keizer.
Goesch hadn’t planned to follow his father’s career path.
“I was never gonna do what my dad did,” said Sam. “I was at Oregon State, I was an accounting major; I didn’t like it.”
Though today he is a Keizer man, Sam was born in Rapid City, South Dakota. He graduated from McNary High School in 1973 and Oregon State in 1978 with a degree in accounting.
On a weekend home from college, Goesch accompanied his father on an errand.
“He was driving a nice car and he’d just gotten home from a company trip he had earned. And we went to Lancaster Mall, and it seemed he knew every other person there” Goesch remembered.
He marveled at all the people at the mall his dad knew.
“How do you know all these people?” Sam recalls asking his father.
His father insured many of the mall’s merchants, it turned out.
“I knew right then that I liked taking care of people and I liked to be liked, so I was going to do the same thing. It took me a long time to get a car that nice,” Goesch said.
He opened his own State Farm Insurance agency in June 1981. The office was located on North Portland Road atand Lancaster Drive. He shared the space with another rookie agent.
Now, after 43 years in insurance, Goesch is retiring.
“I always had a goal to retire at 70, and I’ll be 70 in December,” he said.
“The last couple years have been much better than the preoceeding years, financially.
“I still have good health to enjoy the beginning of our retirement, be with grandkids, travel, volunteer, work on my music skills. Do some genealogy,.” he said.
His music skills include playing the string bass. He played in the small band that provided music for Keizer Homegrown Theatre’s production of Always, Patsy, a one-woman show about country singer Patsy Cline.
In retirement, he will look for opportunities, to play his string bass, whether it’s musicals, community theater or local orchestras.
Goesch said tthe best thing about owning an insurance agency is the freedom to set his schedule.
“Of course, I need to take excellent care of my clients. It’s a complex product,” he said.
Goesch said few people understand insurance.
He sees his role as being the interpreter and the explainer.
A key to success in any business is a good staff.
“I found setting my own schedule and having good staff to cover for me, allowed me to really participate in this community,” he said.
Goesch served on the Keizer Planning Commission in the early 1990s. He was involved with the Keizer Chamber of Commerce as board member, vice president and president.
He said serving with the chamber was one of the greatest lessons of business he ever had.
He served as a coach, manager, and board member of Keizer Little League, where he also served as treasurer and two terms as president.
“It was an immense opportunity to give to this community that I love,” Goesch recalled. “I made so many friends there. And my kids grew up at Keizer Little League.”
Until recently he served on the board of Keizer Homegrown Theatre.
Each year was busy with his community volunteer work. That was rounded out with the family boat in the summer and OSU baseball in the WHEN?
Goesch and his wife, Victoria, twice opened their home twice to foreign exchange students.
They have hosted friends from church who didn’t have housing. They also hosted a homeless woman.
“That didn’t go so well,” Sam said. “She robbed us pretty badly We did the right thing and gave her the opportunity.”
In the insurance field, Sam’s most memorable client moments include a family that suffered a house fire.
“With the help of State Farm claims, we immediately advanced them a big check, because all their personal property was destroyed. They were staying in the hotel, their records were gone. And State Farm gives agents the ability to write a big check in those circumstances right in our office,.” he said.
He recalled selling life insurance to a friend when she was a young mother.She developed a debilitating disease. Goesch included a provision in the policy to waive the premium for disability.
“When she could no longer pay the premium, State Farm took it over and (State Farm) will pay it as long as she lives,” he said..
He clients will be transferred to another agent who will move to Keizer in April. Goesch will close his office.
Retirement plans for the Goeschs include alot of travel. They love national parks and monuments and, it is their goal to see all the national parks in the next five years. That, which will take them from Alaska to Maine to Southern California.
The insurance industry has its challenges.
“There’s a lot of failure,” GoeschSam said. “The industry’s failure rate at five years for agents is 90%. A lot of washouts.”
Goesch thinks insurance was a good choice.
“I think it’s a great career,” he said. “If you love people, if you love helping, if you love the freedom, love being involved I would highly recommend it.”